Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the cast of Friends getting old, the Yankees struggling like hacks, or how crappy Sprint is, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
After E3 2010, I vaguely remember an article by some guy I can’t remember saying that videogames have desensitized people. The premise was that gamers have spent too much time shooting enemy soldiers, decapitating villains, and blowing buildings up that it no longer seems shocking. I started thinking about the issue again after the excellent people at Gamasutra started discussing it.
The argument certainly has some merit. I remember being stunned and impressed when I saw a fatality in Mortal Kombat for the first time. That doesn’t cut it today. The violence has to be bigger, badder, and crazier. Having said that, I’m not at all desensitized to real-world violence. I would panic (before acting heroically, of course) if I saw someone get shot in real life. I am shocked when a pedestrian gets hit by a car. I guess what I’m getting at is that I don’t see a correlation between the videogame world and the real world when it comes to this issue.
As always, I want your thoughts on the matter. Have you become desensitized to videogame violence? Does it matter in your IRL existence? Considering the leap from Mortal Kombat to God of War, where do you see videogame violence ten years from now?
No. I still am shocked whenever I see an image of someone's brain smeared on the pavement
In the world of gaming I would have to say yes I am desensitized , but I do have a limit. The first time I played Prototype I had a panic attack because I couldn't handle all the exploding bodies and chaos that ensued in that game. Also, Far Cry 2 had me grossed out when I first played the online multiplayer. For those of you that don't know when your character takes damage you can heal yourself. Its pretty graphic. There are several animations, your guy would pull a long ass shard of glass out his hand, pulling/spitting teeth out your mouth, pulling a metal re bar out your forearm, snapping random limbs back into place, pretty gross graphic stuff lol.
I have seen people shot, stabbed, hit by buses, cars, trains, dog attacks, all type of things that I can and will never get used to.
@Big Blak
you sound like you can have a PTSD episode at anytime now.
No i don't think i'm de-sensitized because of video games. i think the Army did that for me. I still get a little sick watching movies like "Saw" where people are mutilated and killed in different ways. I don't think i've played anything that's considered scary except for the L4D series. Oh and RE but those scary cutscenes or moments are so predictable.
@Friends
Courtney Cox and Lisa Kudrow were pretty old to begin with. it happens. I believe a great man said," You know you're getting old when Kelly from Saved by the bell is having kids."
@yankees
i hope that Kerry Wood isn't messing you guys up real bad. :(
@sprint
we all know sprint has very bad customer service and we don't expect it to change anytime soon.
@anyone with iphone/ipod/ipad
cnet provided this article bringing 4G services to your apple product. I'm tempted to try it since i have clear for my gf's house.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-20012591-94.html…
@ Tokz
That is funny but PTSD is no joke. I have lived in the slums my whole life up until last November and I knew it was a shitty lifestyle (hood life!) and I wanted out because most people that live that way are complacent about it and I want to be around things and ideas other than hate, violence, and drugs, weed is cool though lol. I am young at age but I have seen and experienced some horrible shit that has allowed me to grow and mature as a man and human being. Rather than wallow in the sorrow I chose to get out before I became a product of my environment, dead, jail, or an addict. I guess I wouldn't have the same reaction as some when it comes to violence but I am not desensitized to it.
@Big blak
thanks i feel like a jerk now.
@tokz/BB
I feel like a jerk just because I laughed at the joke.
@topic
There's a line between reality and video games. I mean back in the day I watched Tom and Jerry beat each other to death with irons and bricks. Did I go around beating my brother and friends with household objects? No. Games may have more horrific thing today then they did in yesteryear but they have gotten more advanced so the gore/violence had to step up. Some parents used to flip when Bond would get that red circle on his face from getting shot. I see sick shit all the time in video games, guys getting chainsawed in half and exploding into pieces, but when I see movie like Saw or that horribly long rape scene from Last house on the left I still get knots in my stomach. SAW= "Will it Blend??" with people.
Video games have desensitized me to video game violence. Real violence still appalls me.
@tokz_21 Sprint had a big sign in the store that bragged how it has improved its customer service more than any other company. Really though, it only had one direction to go.
@rpad
ha!
Ok, I'm back. Work has been hell for the past few days.
@topic;
I'm on the same page as Nightshade. I'm pretty desensitized to video game violence, but I'm the kind of person that would pass out and/or throw up at the sight of someone bleeding profusely.
@N8 (and anyone else interested);
VGVN is holding a "design our badge" contest for their site. They are giving away $1,000 worth of Best Buy gift cards ($750 for the 1st place winner and $250 for the runner-up). Since you are into graphic design and all that, I thought you might be interested. Here's the link:
http://www.videogamevoters.org/page/s/badge-conte…
Good luck at anyone that enters.
-M
you guys seen the atari 2600 style halo game?
http://www.codemystics.com/halo2600/
Umm, anyone who thinks they are desensitized to violence because of video games (or in general), should hang around /b/ for a while. There are people(?) there that will break you of that notion quick.
@Big Blak
The healing in FC2 never bugged me as much as the extreme repetition of the game itself.